The God Who Provides

Luke 9:1-17

Have you ever heard of “analysis paralysis?” According to a quick Google search, it can be thought of as “the state of overthinking or over-analyzing a situation, causing decision-making to become frozen and preventing action.”

At the beginning of this passage, Jesus sends his disciples on a journey of preaching the Kingdom of God and healing the sick, instructing them to bring almost nothing with them and to rely on the hospitality of the local people. I don’t know about you, but I think “analysis paralysis” pretty accurately describes the state I would be in if I were in the disciples’ shoes.

Don’t get me wrong, I love to travel, and I consider myself a pretty adventurous person, but going somewhere with nothing but the clothes on my back and having no idea where I’d be sleeping, sounds a bit crazy to me. If I were the disciples, I probably would have got so in my head about all the things that could have gone wrong, that I would have just backed out altogether.

Even just committing to a journey like this shows the deep trust and complete devotion these men had toward Jesus. They were willing to leave behind all forms of comfort and safety and walk forward with complete reliance on God’s provision. We see this same theme occur again later in the passage, when Jesus instructs the disciples to feed 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish.

Jesus directs the disciples to have the people sit down in groups as if they were preparing to eat a meal together, and they do just that, knowing what little resources they have. They obeyed even when they didn’t understand how it could possibly work. I also think it’s really cool that Jesus chose to allow the disciples to play such a key role in this miracle. He could have done it all alone but allowed them to be a part of it.

This passage teaches us a lot about what it looks like to walk closely with Jesus. It teaches us that when God calls us to do something, He will provide all that we need to make it happen. It’s tempting to want to be in control, to plan, and to figure everything out yourself, but things rarely play out in a way that allows for that.

Oftentimes, we must take a step without knowing how things are going to work out, and most of the time, that can be terrifying, but we can rest assured knowing that God will provide everything we need. It makes me think of Matthew 6:28-30, “Consider the lilies of the field how they grow: they neither toil nor spin…But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you…”

God cares about us and wants to provide for us. He can do incredible, miraculous things with what we choose to trust him with. So today, don’t get stuck in the state of “analysis paralysis.”

Take that one small step God is asking you to take, put everything you have in His hands, and watch what He can do.

Carmen K